Lester B. Pearson Board urges street safety after recent incident

The Lester B. Pearson School Board is using a recent incident to remind parents about street proofing their children.

School board chair Suanne Stein Day said a man in an SUV approached a student who was leaving Westwood High School in Saint-Lazare, west of Montreal, on Friday.

“He asked him if he was so-and-so, some other name. The child said ‘no’ and kept walking,” Stein Day said.

The man then opened his car door, at which point the child ran to the nearest house and asked for help, Stein Day told CBC's Daybreak.

Police asked the boy’s family to call the school board, and also asked the board to alert parents about potential dangers from strangers.

“We don’t know that there were any bad intentions. We don’t have any more information,” Stein Day said. “But it’s a great opportunity to remind all students and parents about safety procedures around schools and how to react when approached.”

The board sent a letter to parents with the following tips for their children:

- Walk home in groups, especially now that the sun sets earlier.

- Move in the opposite direction from any vehicle that approaches you on the street.